Golf practice apparatus or game



May 20, 1930. F. o. FISH GOLF PRACTICE APPARATUS ORIGAME Filed Jan. 7, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet l W71 666 I M May 20,1930. F. O, Fl H 1,759,156

GOLF PRACTICE A PPARATUS OR GAME Filed Jan. '7, .1926 s'sheets-sheet 2 hzwmy v v May 20, 1930. F. O. FISH GOLF PRACTICE APPARATUS OR GAME) Filed Jan/7, 1926 3-Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented May 20; 1930 v UNITED, STATES FRED o; FISH, or WINCHESTER,MASSACHUSETTS GOLF PRACTICE Ar aumrrus R .GAME

Application filed January 7, 1926 7 Serial No. 79,769:

. Thepresent invention relates to apparatus for the practice of golf away from the golf links inrestricted quarters andpref'erably indoors Wherethe use of a regulation b'all re- .5 quires expensive and elaborate apparatus and .in any event is more or less dangerous.

' The object of the invention is to provide an.

apparatus which can be used safely in re- I st'ricted quarters with any golf club which 10 the .player prefers and which'will' give the desired practice without liability of inducing bad habits. With the above object in view, the apparatus consists, in the devices and arrangement of .15 parts hereinafter described and claimed.

For all-golf strokes except putting a disk of suitable material such as vulcanized rubber, \is used in the place of the regulation ball which disk is substantially the diameter of a golf ball and of a thicknesswhich permits it to be driven from a playing surface or tee for fiveor six feet without tumbling. A suitable playing surface or, tee is provided from which the disk is driven andmeans are provided by '2 which the disk can be "stopped withoutLrebound-while in full flight a few feet fromthe startingpoint. The means for stopping the disk comprise areceiving surface'formed on a base board and a catcher board supported above the receiving surface so as to form ac apparatus which have' heretofore been devised is the inability of the player to determine converging throatdnto which the-disk passes. The catcher board is mounted so that it can be liftedto permit the disk or disks which have been played to be removed, and is preferably pivoted so that it can also yield slight-' ly as the disk passes beneath it. Tointercept a disk which may pass beyond the throat, a back stop of any suitable character maybe provided, the preferredform of back stop being a pivotally mounted board arranged beyond the catcher board.

The base board is preferably arranged so that the receiving surface inclines upwardly from the playing surface of the tee in a position to, intercept the line of flight of the disk, thus insuring that the disk will be flat against the receiving surface when it reaches the throat formed by the receiving surface and catcher board. e

The position in which the disk is found to theplayer with absolute accuracy the effect beneath the catcher board will indicate the direction of'flight'of the disk, but in order to give a better indication, and afford an object at which to shoot, a series of tell-tales may be arranged across the receiving surface-in front 5' i of the. catcher board. which tell-tales are;

struck and moved bythe disk in its flight along thereceivin' surface. v For the success ul operation of the appara-- tus, itis necessary that the disk, duringits flight, slide along the receiving surface and in order to secure this result, regardless'of the character of. club used, the tee in addi-' tion to the playing. surface from which the disk is driven, is provided withaguard in the form of amat located behind the disk in position to prevent the club'head from strik-,- ing solow on the .disk as to'lift it'abovethe receiving surface This guard may be a sheet of yielding material such as vulcanized rubher, and is preferably one-half the thickness of thedisk so that the club head is caused -t o'strike the disk substantiallyat or above the center of the disk. With straightfaced wooden clubs the use of the guard will ordinarily be unnecessary, but with iron clubsandparticularly those with-a face set back as much" as amidiron or mashie the use of the guard is necessary,

An objectionable feature of golf practice whether his stroke produces a straight ball, a pull, or a slice. A feature of they present invention remedies this defect and indicates which his stroke-would have on a-regulation ball. This feature of the invention consists in Y 1 the provision of means attached to the golf disk for indicating the direction in which the disk spins during its flight and the amount of such spin from the time the disk leaves the tee until it is caught by the catcher board. Asa, means for producing this-indication, the golf disk is provided with a string or pigtail which during the flight of the disk is wound up upon the disk in one direction or the other, depending on thedirection in which the disk is spinfling. The number of turns about the disk will, of course, indicate the degree of spin and consequently the amount of pull or slice the other endto aportion of the apparatus in such a manner as to prevent that end of the string from twisting. In such. case, the amount of spin imparted to the disk and the direction of spin will be indicated by the amount and directionof twist in the double string when the disk is removed from the apparatus.

To secure the desired results as to freedom from tumbling or lifting in its flight above the receiving surface of the base board, the disk is comparatively thin as compared with its diameter, the preferred thickness of the disk being approximately three-eighths of an inch which is'somewhat less than onefourth ofits diameter. Such a diskat first does not present to the eye precisely the same appearance as a regulation golf ball, and to present a mark having the appearance of a golf ball at which to swing the club, a light truncated ball of sponge rubber or other suitable material substantially the size of agolf ball and adapted to rest upon the golf disk when in playing'position on the tee may be used. This ball, if desired, may be fastened to some portion of the apparatus by a comparatively short piece of elastic. With this arrangement, the truncated ball gives a mark similar to a golf ball at which to swing the club, while the disk offers 'sufficient resistance to the club head to give 1iu pstantially the reaction of a regulation A feature of the present invention also 'contemplates the use of the apparatus for putting with a regulation ball. To this end a perforated putting board is provided having a ball deflector extending obliquely across its lower surface and extending downwardly therefrom. The base board of the apparatus is provided with legs to support the base board at an inclination to the floor and the upper ends of these legs project above the base board to form supporting standards for a transverse rod upon which one end of the putting board can rest, the other end of the board contacting with the floor beyond the base board.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in which. is illustrated an apparatus embodying the invention, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the complete apparatus set up for use with a golf disk or disks. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of the apparatus folded up for convenience in storing away or in shipment. Fig. 4 is a View in slde ele' vation showing somewhat diagrammatically the tee with its guard, a golf disk in playing position, and also indicating the action of a golf club in striking the disk, and the action which the same stroke would have upon a regulation golf ball. Fig. 5 is a view in side elevation of the tee with its guard, a golf disk and a superimposed truncated sponge rubber ball. Fig. 6 is a plan view of a golf disk provided with a pigtail consisting of a double string shown as being twisted by the spinning of the disk in the direction indicated bythe arrow. Fig. 7 is a view similar to.Fig. 6, but showing the manner in which the string may be wound about the disk before it is removed from the apparatus, the direction in which the string is wound in this figure indicating that the disk during its flight was spinning in a direction to produce a pull. Fig. 8 is a View similar to Fig. 7, but showing a string wound about the disk in a direction indicating that the stroke would have produced a slice. Fig. 9 is a view in side elevation of the disk illustrated in Fig.

8. Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the apparatus set up for putting. Fig. 11 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is a detail underneath plan view of the putting board with the ball deflector folded fiat against the board, and Fig. 13 is a longitudinal sectional View taken on the line 13-13 of Fig. 12, but showing the ball deflector standing at right angles to the board.

In Fig. 1, the golf disk is indicated at'14,

and the base board with the receiving surface at 15. This base board is provided with side rails 16, and for convenience in storing away'or in shipping is divided into two parts which are hinged together, indicated-at 17, to permit the board to be folded as indicated in Fig. 3. At its forward end, the base board rests against the floor of the room in which the apparatus is to be used, and its rear end is supported at the desired distancefrom the floor by legs 18. These legs are pivotally mounted upon the side rails 16 by means of bolts and wing nuts 19 which permit the legs to be folded down into alignment with the side rails when the apparatus is to be folded up as indicated in Fig. 3.

' Thecatcher board is indicated at 20 and is arranged with its rear edge in contact with the receiving surface 15 near the rear edge of the base board. .The forward edge of the catcher board is.beveled on its under surface and is supported by bearing blocks 21 which are secured to the upper surface of the catcher board and project over the side rails 16. The under surface of the catcher board and the receiving surface 15 thus form a throat to receive, stop, and hold the golf disk as it travels up the receiving surface. The manner in which the disk is stopped and held in the throat is indicated in Fig. 2 in which a disk is shown in dotted lines held in the throat,

A number of disks may be played one after 'th'e'o'ther, if desired; beforeany of them are removed from beneath; the "catcher; board. In such case the board will be lifted by the disks-more or less, and it'mayhappen that a disk will pass completely through the throat beyond the board. f To provide a stop for such a disk, theback stop 22 is provided consisting of aboard "pivotally mounted in I the upwardly projecting ends ofv the legs 18, and extending downwardly. across the rear- '10. edgeof the base board.

It will-be noted that thearrangement of the'catcher. board'a'nd-base board permits any desired number of golf disksto be played before removing any ofthem from the ap- .paratusand permitseither or both boards to belifted readily when the disks 'are to be removed.

The tell-taleswhich serve 'as. marksat which to shoot and which .also indicate the direction of flight ofthe' disk are illustrated at 23. As shown, these tell-tales cionsistof small sheets of material such as vulcanized sheet rubber held in metallic clips 24 which are pivotallymounted upon a supporting rod '25. This rod extends across the base board of the apparatus and is supported in the upper ends of standards 26 securedto the side rails 16, the securing means being bolts 'ards to be folded down into alignment with the side'rails 16 when the apparatus is folded up-as indicated in Fig. 3.

. of the disk. Both of. these mats, .as illus-J The tee from which the. golf disks are driven comprises a mat 28 provided with a playing surface upon which the disk is placed and a guard mat 29 overlapping the mat 28 and ofsubstantially one-half the thickness trated, are secured to a board 30 adapted to rest onthe floor and having its forward edge arranged to contact with the edge of'the base board'15. f i

Golf disks Without any attachment for indicating direction ofspin may be used, but

I when the direction of spinis to beindic'ated,

adisk similar to that illustratedin Figs. 6

to 9 is used.- This disk is provided with a string indicated at 31. This string enters the side of the disk near its lower surface, .passes upwardly through the upper surface,

' then downwardly again to emerge from the side near the place of entrance. The string is thus securely attached to the disk and does not form a projection on'the smooth under side of the disk. The ends of the string re mote from the disk may be left free or they may be threaded through screw eyes on one of the side rails 16 as indicated in Figs. 1

and 2. In such case the length of the string should be longer than the distance from the screw eye to the receiving throat formed by the catcher board 20 and base board 15. The manner in which the string indicates the direction and amount of spin to produce and'll, and the putting board, shown sepaeither a slice or a pull will be obvious from inspection of Figs. 6 to 9 and from the description already given.

The truncated light ball of sponge rubber which may be used in. connection with the golf disk is indicated at 32 in Figs. 1 and 5. Preferably this ball will be attached by.

means of an elastic string on one of the side rails 16.

When the apparatus is to beused ingf'it is setup as indicated inFigsL lO for puttrately in Figs.12 and 13,.is also used. 'The p uttingboard, indicated at 34, is provided with a perforation 35' through which a properl de ector 36 consisting of a sheet of stiff maplayed ball will drop. and with a ball I terial pivotally mounted on'the under side of the putting board by means of a hinge 37 which permitsthe ball deflector to be folded down against theputting board in either direction. The" ball deflector extends obliquely across the putting board so that the ball 1 and wing nuts 27 which permit the stand- 1 resting which-has dropped through the perforation in the-board will be deflected to one sideof' the board.

Toform a support for the putting'board-v and also to provide a surface for returning to the player .a ball which drops through the perforation in the putting board, the for-- ward section of the' base board. 15 is provided with supporting legs 38 which extendupwardly above the base-board in position to support a rod 39 which extends trans versely acrossthe. base board. The putting board at its perforated end is adapted to rest upon the supporting rod 39. as indicated in 'Figs. 10 and 11,. and its front edge-is arranged to rest upon the floor beyond the front edge of the base-board 15. Projections 40,011 the putting board may be provided to contact with the rod 39 and prevent the;

board from being displaced. To form a back stop for balls which would otherwise pass beyond the upper end of the putting board, the catcher board 20 may be placed as indicated in Figs. 10 and-11 with its lower face board. I The legs 38 are mountedon the side rails 16 of the base board by means of bolts. and

.wing nuts 41- which permit the legs to be against the rear edge of the putting folded into-alignment with the side rails flector to contact with the base board regardless of the particular inclination at which the apparatus is set up.

The manner in which the apparatus can be folded into a compact arrangement for storage or shipment will be clearly apparent from inspection of the-drawings and from the preceding description. As has been stated, the legs and standards which are attached to the side rails can be folded down into alignment with the rails. Also, the back stop 22 can be turned down against the base board so that it is flush with or below the rails 16.

The nature and scope of the present invention having been indicated and an ap paratus embodying the invention in its pre ferred form having been specifically 'described what is claimed is:

1. A golf practice apparatus comprising a disk having substantially the diameter of a golf ball and a thickness which adapts it to be driven from a playing surface by a golf club without tumbling, an inclined receiving surface intercepting the line of flight of the disk and means for stopping the disk after being intercepted by said receiving surface.

2. A golf practice apparatus comprising a disk having a diameter substantially that of a golf balland a thickness which adapts it to be driven from a playing surface by a golf club without tumbling, a receiving surface and a catcher board cooperating with the receiving surface to form a throat to stop and hold the disk.

3. A golf practice apparatus comprising a disk having a diameter'substantially that of a golf ball and a thickness which adapts it to be driven from a playing surface by a golf club without tumbling, a receiving surface,

a pivoted catcher board cooperating with the receiving surface to form a throat to stop and hold the disk, and a back stop to intercept a disk passing beyon'd'the throat.

4. A golf practice apparatuscoinprising a disk having a diameter substantially that of a olf ball and a thickness which adapts it toie driven from a playing surface by a golf club without tumbling, a receiving surface, a pivoted catcher board cooperating with the receiving surface to form a throat to stop the disk, and a board pivotally mounted beyond the catcher board and forming a back stop to intercept a disk passing beyond the throat. l

5. A golf practice apparatus comprising adisk having a diameter substantiallynthat of a golf ball and a thickness which adapts it to be driven from a playing surface by a golf club without tumbling, a receiving surface. a

series of tell-tales arranged to be moved by the disk passing along the receiving surface and indicate the path of the disk, and means for stopping the disk aft-er passing the telltales. Y

6. golf practice'apparatus' comprising a disk having a diameter substantially that of a golf ball and a thickness which adaptsit to be driven from a playing surface by a golf club club without tumbling, and a tee comprislng a playing surface from which the disk is driven and a guard consisting of a yielding mat projecting above the playing surface substantially one-half the diameter of the disk to insure impact of the club head substantially at or above the center of the disk.

8. A golf disk of vulcanized gum such as rubber having a diameter substantially that of a golf ball anda thickness which adapts it to be driven from a playing surface by a golf clubwithout tumbling, and being provided with means for indicating the direction in which the disk spins during its flight.

9. A golf disk of vulcanized gumsuch as rubber having a diameter substantially that of a golf ball and a thickness which adapts the disk to be driven from a playing surface without tumbling, and having attached thereto a string to indicate the direction in which the disk spins during its flight.

. 10. A golf practice apparatus comprising a disk having a diameter substantially that of a golf ball and a thickness which adapts it to be driven from a playingsurface by a golf club without tumbling, a receiving surface, means for stopping the disk and holding it against the receiving surface, and means attached to the disk for indicating the direction in which the disk spins during its flight.

11. A golf practice apparatus comprising a disk having a diameter substantially that of a golf ball and a thickness which adapts it to be driven from a playing surface by a golf club without tumbling, means for stopping the disk while in full flight, and a double string held from twisting at one end and attached at its other end to the disk to indicate by its twist the direction in which the disk spins during'its flight.

12. A golf practice apparatus comprising a base board adapted to be supported at an inclination to the horizontal with one edge in contact with the floor, standards rising from the side edges of the base board, a rod connect- .ing the standards, and a perforated putting board arranged to rest at one end on the rod and at the other end'on the floor whereby the putting board is supported above the base card, but at a greater inclination to the horizontal, and a ball deflector extending obliquely across the lower surface of the putting iii board and projecting downwardly towards the base board. I

'13. A golf practice apparatus comprising a base board, legs pivotally mounted at the sides of the base board to support the board at an inclination to the horizontal with one edge in contact with the floor, said legs rising above the base board to form rod supporting standards, a rod connecting the standards, a perforated putting board arranged to rest at one end on the rod and at the other end on the floor whereby the putting board is supported above the base board, but at a greater inclination to the horizontal, and a ball deflector extending obliquely across the lower surface of the putting board and projecting downwardly towards the base board.

14. A golf practice apparatus comprising a base board adapted to be supported at an inclination to the horizontal with one edge in .contact with the floor, a perforated putting board, means for supporting the putting board above the base board with one edge in contact With the floor so that the putting board is at a greater inclination to the horizontal than the baseboard, and a ball deflector extending obliquely across the putting board pivotally connected to the under surface of the putting board and projecting downwardly towards the base board. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

FRED o. FISH. 

